Italy alongside Pakistan in olive growing

Rome: The Secretary General of Pakistan’s Ministry of Food Security and Research, Ali Tahir, and the Italian Ambassador to Pakistan, Marilina Armellin, chaired the first meeting of the steering committee of the Italian development cooperation project Scale-Up OliveCulture.

The steering committee is the decision-making body of the project in which representatives of the institutions involved in the implementation of the activities participate with the aim of ensuring their coordination, effectiveness and efficiency.

The high body approved the plan of activities that Ciheam Bari, as a specialised body, will implement over the next three years with funding from the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (ICAO) of EUR 3 million.

Scale-up Oliveculture aims at expanding the olive oil supply chain and fostering climate-resilient rural development in Pakistan through capacity building of Pakistani public and private actors.

The project, which incorporates funding from the Pakistani government to promote olive cultivation on a commercial scale, aims to bring economic and nutritional benefits to producers and consumers.

Finally, Ambassador Armellin and Secretary General Ali Tahir emphasised the importance of adhering to international standards to ensure high quality products, while supporting entrepreneurship, including female entrepreneurs, and the fight against desertification.